Man Of Steel Review

It's been a really LONG time since I have reviewed anything. Simply have not had the time. However, there is 2 films I said come hell or high water I will catch in the theater this summer. Man Of Steel and World War Z. In back to back weeks no less.
I have to start this by confessing I am in my late 30's. So I hold a special place for all the Christopher Reeve's Superman movies. I am also a big Smallville fan. Yeah, kind of cheesy and teeny but, when you combine old cameo's, original Superman music it became one of my favorite series of all time. So I came with a lot of hope for the Christopher Nolan produced and Zack Snyder directed Man Of Steel.
This is a different take on Superman. While the old movies and the Smallville series stuck somewhat close to each other the Man Of Steel film went a different direction. And frankly, it was a breath of fresh air. I was hoping for a Dark Knight dark and grittier movie and I got it. There is space battles, armour, aliens. And we get a real sense of how the world would react not so much to a superhero but, to a alien.
The look of this movie is very grey and almost dirty on screen. Not the bright colors of the old movies. There is no corny one liners and jokes. It was serious business. Henry Cavill does a solid job donning the cape. I will say they finally cast a guy that looks like the part. He has to be rocked up at about 230lbs. of pure whip ass. Russell Crowe got a lot of screen time as Jor-El and was very good playing the part of Supes' dear old dad. Russell owns the Jor-El character and never makes you think "why are you on screen yet again?". He has a lot of involvement.
The guy that steals the movie however, is Michael Shannon as Zod. This guy captures the angst, anger, and emotion of a man trying to re-birth his planet with all of his being. Now, my biggest issue was Amy Adams. She just looked out of place and miscast as Lois Lane. Lois was a likable smart ass. Amy Adams did not portray anything likable. There was nothing that led you to want to see her end of as Superman's everything. There is plenty of action and one hell of a fight between Superman and Zod that will fill the appetite of most fans. I have to say everything has a much different look than it's old 70's and 80's counterpart movies. This is Nolan and Snyder's baby. And it has they're style through and through. They're vision is much different. That may put some people off if they're looking for that easy going hokey nerdy farm boy thing.
Nolan delivers another fine film and does what he does best. He makes a superhero movie feel like a REAL movie. That's why I like the Nolan versions because they're less hokey and kiddie feeling than the Marvel movies.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 axes. It loses .5 for Amy Adams alone.